1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the repair of protective coatings and, in one particular embodiment, to the repair of vehicle bed-liner coatings.
2. Technical Considerations
Protective coatings are known for protecting various substrates, such as metal or plastic pipelines, large gravel haulers, vehicle components, railroad cars, metal valves, plastic parts, etc., from mechanical and/or environmental damage. One particular use for such protective coatings is in so called vehicle “bed-liners”. Bed-liners are provided in the cargo bed areas of trucks or other commercial vehicles to protect the underlying metal bed from scratches, dents, chips, corrosion, and other damage. Additionally, the bed-liner provides the vehicle with a desirable aesthetic appearance, especially when the bed-liner is new. Conventional bed-liners can be formed by attaching prefabricated rubber or plastic pieces onto the vehicle bed. Alternatively, the bed-liner can be formed in situ by the spray application of a liquid coating composition onto the vehicle bed, which coating composition then cures to form the protective bed-liner.
While generally acceptable for their intended purpose, problems can develop with the use of such conventional bed-liners. For example, when new, the bed-liner initially protects the underlying metal surface from mechanical damage caused by hauling or throwing objects into the vehicle bed and/or environmental damage, such as corrosion, that can be caused by moisture. However, with continued use, the bed-liner can become scratched, gouged, or otherwise damaged. This can lead to a decrease in the aesthetic appearance of the bed-liner or, more importantly, can expose portions of the underlying metal vehicle surface, which can promote scratching of the metal surface or corrosion. Once rust or other corrosion gains a foothold, degradation of the entire metal bed can follow. Additionally, for spray-applied bed-liners, bubbles or voids or other application defects can exist in the bed-liner coating.
Once a vehicle bed-liner has become damaged or application defects are detected, the entire bed-liner may have to be removed and an entirely new bed-liner applied to the vehicle bed to prevent continued corrosion of the underlying metal surface. This can be a time-consuming and expensive venture. Alternatively, a vehicle owner may try to patch the damaged area using duct tape or other conventional patching compositions. However, a drawback of this procedure is that the patched area may not match the original bed-liner appearance, e.g., color, texture, and/or design, which can lead to a “patchwork quilt” appearance of the overall bed-liner. This is aesthetically undesirable. Moreover, the patching material can have a different mechanical and/or chemical durability than the original bed-liner, which can result in the need to continually re-patch the area as the patching material wears away.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and/or apparatus for repairing a damaged bed-liner that eliminates or reduces at least some of the problems described above.